UConn 58, South Florida 44: Wrapping Things Up At Sun Dome

Kevin Ollie: 'we have a bench that's deep, that can give us a spark' #uconn

TAMPA, Fla. – A rugged start, but a fast finish for the Huskies tonight. Not a whole lot to say about this one; it was a game UConn had to win, a game they were supposed to win and they won it by 14.

The main takeaway was UConn’s bench, which has contributed 41 points in the two wins in Florida. The Huskies are putting their season back together now, but need to win against Cincinnati on Saturday, then get two more road wins on the Tulsa-Stanford junket.

“… A successful trip by us, starting the New Year right. Get two down in Florida, get two road kills, a great job by the team. Everybody stepped up. First half we started off sluggish, then we put the bench in and Rak and Omar and Sam gave us a lift and kept us alive. Then in the second half our defense was great, it was relentless and we got stops and we were able to score on the fast break and get some shots to go in.

“We were 1-for-10 from the three-point line and then made some shots. And all around good game by us and I appreciate the effort from the guys.

“We took less shots, we took good shots. We didn’t settle. I thought we settled in the first half. We started to get some penetration, our rebounding was real good and we got out in the fast break a little bit. We didn’t settle, we got in the thick of the defense and we got ‘UConn’ shots.

“[Rakim Lubin and Sam Cassell Jr.] They haven’t even been getting in the game. I want them to be ready. I keep telling the guys to stay on call, you never know when your name is going to get announced. They were ready. Rak has been doing a fabulous job in practice, staying ready, talking, staying engaged and Sam has been doing the same thing. Omar [Calhoun] has been coming along. So it’s good to have a bench now that’s deep, that can come in and give us a lift. And that’s what we needed in the second half. It was like we were sleepwalking in the first half, and then when I inserted those guys the rhythm of the game picked up. I think he really bodes well for us in t he future because we have guys coming in and giving us lifts in different areas.

“ We’re going to keep plugging away, I’m very proud of the guys. It was definitely a business trip for us and now we’ve got to come back and continue to move forward.

“Brimah? Yes. Unbelievable. Our guards got to do a better job of containing the ball, because we can’t keep relying on Amida back there. But I t hought in the second half we kept Collins out of the paint a little bit more. And Amida, he’s a special player. I keep telling everybody, he’s rebounding the ball a lot better, which is a great thing for him. He did a great job in that Florida game, getting 10 rebounds, and coming back getting eight more, and six blocks is amazing. And he probably altered another four. So to have that as a presence back there, keeping him out of foul trouble is going to be a key for us down the stretch here.”

“His offense is coming around. He still has to be a little bit more physical. This game, he started offensive rebounding and it really kept us in the game. we couldn’t make a shot, and I think he got a tip-dunk that kind of got him going. He made a couple of shots around the basket, and Kentan [Facey] did a good job, too. Terrence [Samuel] had seven rebounds, he came in and contributed, he had seven and four assists, so that’s a great contribution from your backup point guard. We’re going to need that each and every game. I thought we had that, great defensive stands. Everybody was talking, and when we needed a stop, we got a stop. We had six kills [three stops in a row] in the game, and that’s a great effort defensively. Hopefully our offensive keeps evolving, but we’ve been getting some contributions from guys on the offensive end. But how we win championships is rebounding the basketball , defending the basketball with all five and playing aggressive on both ends, and that’s what we’re starting to do.

“We’re starting to settle in. There are still people trying to find themselves, where they’re going to find shots at, thing like that. But the most important thing, we want to be elite teammates and play with effort and play through every situation. Guys are starting to realize that, see how we can play together as a group and win games like this on the road. Unbelievable job by our guys, having that tough Temple loss and then coming out on the road and winning two, it shows the resolve of a champion. And that’s what I like our guys to always believe in themselves, trust their teammates and trust the coaches as much as I trust them. They’re starting to believe now, and we’ve got to just keep moving forward and playing the right way.

“I haven’t played [Lubin]. I see it in practice, where he’s talking and staying engaged. Kentan went through it last year, where you’re not playing, you can get down on yourself. I’ve seen Rak continue to talk to his teammates, continue to work, not get down and be on call. It gives you the trust, that when you need him I can insert him and he knows the game plan because he’s not getting down on himself and pointing a finger at anybody. He’s just looking in the mirror and saying, ‘what can I do to help this team?’ To help this team now, it’s being in practice and pushing Kentan and Amida, but also push yourself. I think he’s doing a great job and I was very proud of him, to come in and give us that lift that he did.

[Anthony Collins] was just getting in our paint. You know, he doesn’t have to score a lot to control the game and I thought he was just controlling the game, getting in our paint and finding guys. I thought we did a better job in the second half containing him, being up on his pick and rolls a little bit where he’s not splitting us and getting in our yard. I thought Amida did a great job of getting up of getting up and making him move his feet and throw back to the big fellas."

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From Rakim Lubin

“I just tried to make sure everybody stayed connected.

“I definitely felt like we needed a lift, we needed to pick things up, intensity wise and toughness wise. So I needed to get in there and get on the boards and stuff like that.

“It’s pretty difficult, but whatever it takes for the team to win. If KO wants me to sit on the bench, or play 20 or 30 minutes, I’ll do whatever it takes. Kentan has been big help, he always keeps me focused, he always tells me after every game I don’t play, ‘keep your head in it’ because he went through the same thing last year.

“I have no problem - a wide open jumper like that? That’s what coach wants, he wants us to play. So, a wide open jumper, you’ve got to take it.

“It is pretty tough [to stay ready], but if that’s what coach wants, I just got to do what I got to do. It’s pretty tough to stay ready, but, you know, it’s basketball. When you get out there you still know that you came here to play basketball. So that’s the way it goes, you just have to stay ready.”

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Terrence Samuel

“I’ve been telling Sam, stay ready. I sit next to him on the bench before every game starts and we tell each other before every game, we’ve got to prove something off the bench, we’ve got to help the guys out. Nice to see him finally get his shot.

“We’re just playing more confident, each and every one of us. Omar is coming along, playing with so much confidence now, and Sam. We just feel like we’ve got to prove ourselves off the bench.”

“I feel like everybody knows their role right now, it’s just a matter of going out there and displaying it.”

“The Temple game, like I told you before, I took that on me. I didn’t run the team right. We didn’t have execution down the stretch and I took the game on me personally because I was running the offense. I’ve been going to practice with that mindset, ‘this is a game’ and I got to take advantage of each and every play. … “

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Ryan Boatright

“The [bench] came in and they did what they were supposed to do. We came out flat and they changed the game. They played hard and changed the whole tempo.”

“It had to be [a team effort]. They did a great job of doubling me, and I’m hurt, so I can’t play the way I want to. So they had to step up and everybody came in and took care of their minutes.

“We live off the defensive end. I don’t think we’re as talented on the scoring end, the offensive end. So we’ve got to pride ourselves on the defensive end. The more times we get stops, the better opportunities we have.”

Amida Brimah

“I just got to stay poised, and stay out of foul trouble. When I’m out of foul trouble, I play pretty good. That’s never happened, so I had to take advantage of it.

I’ve got to make sure I hit them first. KO has been on me all the time to get rebounds. I’ve got to rebound. That’s what I’ve been trying to do.

I think we just came out flat and they took advantage of that. We can’t come out like that against good teams.”